My own view, as someone in higher education, is that Harper is essentially cheating himself by skipping two years of high school. Be a damn kid-get drunk at prom, feel up a cheerleader, sleep in homeroom. Enjoy high school while you have the chance.

Why does Harper have to want the same things that the average kid wants?

You forgot dance around your living room in your underwear to "Old Time Rock N Roll", crash your parents' car into a lake, and bang a prostitute.

Be a damn kid-get drunk at prom, feel up a cheerleader, sleep in homeroom. Enjoy high school while you have the chance.

I think we had very different experiences in high school.

He can still do all of that, and have millions of dollars in his bank account.

When he's 18.

He can buy his own damn girlfriend with that kinda money.

Be a damn baseball superstar-get drunk at famous night clubs, feel up a Hollywood actress, sleep on chartered jets. Enjoy being a filthy rich baseball star while you have the chance.

Enjoy high school while you have the chance.

Better yet, enjoy life while you have the chance by skipping the rest of high school to make large amounts of money doing something you enjoy.

I'll trade Harper 2 years of my HS life for 2 years of his life in the majors.

Harper already had a chance to enjoy high school for two years, and now he wants to enjoy something else for a while.

My own view, as someone in higher education, is that Harper is essentially cheating himself by skipping two years of high school. Be a damn kid-get drunk at prom, feel up a cheerleader, sleep in homeroom. Enjoy high school while you have the chance.

I'm pretty sure the College of Southern Nevada is pretty well known for the same things

I'm pretty sure the College of Southern Nevada is pretty well known for the same things


Its a junior college. Its basically High School part II, except the girls dress even skankier.

I've mentioned this before but I don't like the precedent this sets. If this was some random teenager quitting school two years early to go to work, we wouldn't be saying what a great choice they made. We put so much emphasis on education in this country but to then applaud when someone quits early because he can hit a baseball real far, seems to be a double standard.

I guess it goes to the question of what school is really about. To keep them busy? To put them in a position to make tons of money?

If this was some random teenager quitting school two years early to go to work, we wouldn't be saying what a great choice they made.


If it's to go to work at something that he's gifted at, and he stands to make a good living, that's a great choice.

Why is anyone so obsessed with high school? It's for most people, but not everyone.

If this was some random teenager quitting school two years early to go to work, we wouldn't be saying what a great choice they made.

If that random teenager hated high school and they were quitting to go to work doing something they were interested in and enjoyed, I would definitely be saying what a great choice they made. School isn't the only path to success.

as someone else in higher education, my own view is that taking a kid out of an American public high school early is not, ahem, necessarily a disaster...

I have a different question. How in the world can MLB even pretend that they have the power to prevent him from entering the draft? I know that the NFL and NBA have both won court battles on this, but MLB is in a very different legal position, it seems to me. They can be sued for discrimination of a protected class, because they are treating ethnic groups and nationalities differently. If you're born in the Dominican Republic, they will employ you at the age of sixteen. How, then, can it be legal for them to deny any American aged 16 or older the chance to get a job with them?

I spent four years in high school, and enjoyed zero of them.

That's okay, though, I spent four years in college and enjoyed six of them.

Well we got no class
And we got no principles
And we got no innocence
We can't even think of a word that rhymes

One of the great, silly rock lyrics ever. It's the last line that does it.

Not to be too cynical, but isn't he at max value now? Two more dominant high school seasons aren't going to improve his value.

If this was some random teenager quitting school two years early to go to work, we wouldn't be saying what a great choice they made.


If it's to go to work at something that he's gifted at, and he stands to make a good living, that's a great choice.

Why is anyone so obsessed with high school? It's for most people, but not everyone.

+1

Is high school really all that important? The quality of education in many high schools is mediocre at best. Football players are consistently graduating early in order to enroll during the spring semester of the year before their freshman season. Are they missing out on the high school experience?

I don't see any reason to be upset about this. Even if you want to stress education, the kid will be taking JuCo classes so he's still going to school. Much ado about nothing.

We put so much emphasis on education in this country but to then applaud when someone quits early because he can hit a baseball real far, seems to be a double standard.

I am sort of repeating what a couple other people have said already, but, I don't see this as a double standard.

If he was leaving early to go to apprentice as a watchmaker in Switzerland, or play in a world renowned orchestra, or something like that, I think he would get the same applause. Baseball is his craft, he is the best in the world at his age. Kids like that often have their ambitions settled very young.

Education is emphasized in this country because it is a path towards the acquisition of skills, maturity, self-knowledge ... Harper might be there already. (I am speaking as a liberal arts alumnus who graduated with the attitude of, "I have no idea what I'm doing with my life and that's cool!")

And as I said in a previous thread on this, if he is as advanced at life as he is at baseball, he was banging cheerleaders when he was in 8th grade.

Exactly, SuperGrover. In terms of education - he'll be taking full time classes at a higher level. In terms of high school experience - my understanding is he'll be living at home still, and if anybody thinks he won't still be going to all of the high school parties, dating cheerleaders, etc, they are deluding themselves. It's just that barring injury he will get a massive payday - enough to live in comfort for the rest of his life if he doesn't blow it - a year sooner.

I would agree that it could be a bad precedent for lesser talents, though. But this kid is already being discussed as a certain #1 pick - should he not do what is best for his life because someone foolish might follow in his tracks without realizing that they lack the talent that he does?

It's strange -- I haven't seen nearly the level of opposition to Harper's decision that I was expecting.

Maybe I'm just doing a good job of blocking out the crowd that would have a knee-jerk opposition to it.

It's strange -- I haven't seen nearly the level of opposition to Harper's decision that I was expecting.

Maybe I'm just doing a good job of blocking out the crowd that would have a knee-jerk opposition to it.

All the writers who would normally be up in arms about this are busying writing articles about how awful it is that Manny is being cheered while he plays for the Isotopes.

BL (Bozeman): What type of performance do you expect from the Harper kid at Southern Nevada next spring?

Kevin Goldstein: I imagine he'll be pretty damn good. Here's the thing, he's WAY overrated. He's not the greatest thing since sliced bread. He's probably the best player in next year's draft, but he's not a historic talent. The hype machine is just way out of control.

Doug (Flushing): Kevin, no offense but that Harper statement you made is ridiculous. Why? Simply because you did nothing but make a statement. Care to back it up with actual analysis? I'm sure you know much more about the situation then most of us do, but c'mon, don't be that guy.

Kevin Goldstein: Didn't mean to be that guy. I've talked to a lot of scouts, scouting directors and front office people who have seen Harper. His power is absolutely friggin' unreal, no doubt about it, but there are questions about his barrel control, the length of his swing, and his ability to be anything more than a 1B down the road. Again, top player in the draft next year, but not a once-a-generation type.

Conjunction (Dallas): On Harper- Isn't he supposed to have top notch speed and a superb arm? Why would he be confined to first base?

Kevin Goldstein: He can also leap tall buildings in a single bound and his tears cure cancer. He's also big now and going to grow for 2-3 more years, he's going to end up huge.

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